Dear Readers, It has been a while since I have updated and it is going to be hard for me to find my groove again so don't be too harsh, but enjoy, I hope you enjoy, there is more to come. R&R
Your Friend, E. Nolan
CHAPTER TWO: ROGUE CELL
The night disappeared and the rising sun brought a new day. Alex was dressed and ready to leave before the sun past the high-rise buildings in the other part of London. Questions rolled through his head, one question is the answer to another.
Hours past and the streets filled with the bustle of people, ordinary people going to work and going about their day. Alex looked in envy at them as he past. So simple, he thought to himself. And there looking blatantly at him was Royal & General Bank. Not many people knew the secrets of Royal & General. First and foremost, that it wasn't a bank.
Second that it was the place where MI6 led covert and special operations. Alex knew this place like the back of his hands. Personally, he just wished he could pass it and still believe it to be a bank. He rolled through the revolving doors and looked at his surroundings. The scent of new crisp bills, and the metallic smell of coins. There all around were people, depositing money and signing up for checking accounts. This wasn't his floor.
He continued on through the metal detector, the security guard looked at him; a smirk appeared on his face.
"Welcome to Royal & General--Mr. Rider."
Alex looked at him with no amusement, he pressed on determined to end this situation once and for all. He pressed on through the halls and towards the office of Alan Blunt, the "Head of Royal & General Bank". He entered to see Blunt sitting behind his wide executive style mahogany desk as if he were expecting him, but as the Head of Special Operations for MI-6 of course he was.
"Good Morning Mr. Rider, bright and early and eager to work, I see." Spoke Blunt his voice like sandpaper and his humor equally irritating.
"I'm in no mood for sarcasm, I want this over, and I don't want to do this anymore." Alex demanded.
"Why don't you calm yourself down and take a seat, so we can discuss the matter at hand."
Alex submitted, the best way to deal with these people is to submit and listen. "No I'm sure we can find a sensible way to deal with this," spoke Blunt as he moved in closer to Alex as if they were on friendly terms.
"How? I've been shot twice and died twice, revived twice, what makes you think I won't run?"
"That was the matter I wanted to discuss, see you've been getting reckless and the more you endanger yourself with your foolish stunts you endanger the safety of anyone around you as well as national security, therefore by I recommended that we try another more straight-forward measure of keeping you in line."
"What? What is it?"
"I have allowed for sensors to be implanted within your chest, this will allow us to monitor you wherever you go, if you leave the set parameters you will be given a shock, like a dog on a choker."
"You can't do that; I'm a human being, not a dog!"
"We've also implanted sensors along you spine and brain allowing us to monitor you're vital signs and allowing us to emit another shock if your heart gives out again or if you grab hold of a gun."
"If I grab hold of a gun. You're telling me that if I grab a weapon I'll be electrocuted."
"You pick up things very quickly, Mr. Rider., go ahead give it a try." Blunt placed a pistol on the table and took out the clip. Alex looked at it in defiance as he grabbed it and wrapped his hand around it.
Suddenly he dropped it and fell to the floor in a wave of pain and convulsions, a shock made his eyes well with tears and slam shut, he shook uncontrollably and wretched in pain. Then he lay motionless on the floor.
"See. It works. When you grab the handle of a gun you emit a special type of nerve signal telling your brain exactly what it is your holding, and visa-versa we have allowed these signals to first be sent through our monitors and if our monitors pick up this never signal it will emit a shock through the other sensors implanted along your spine. The harder you grab the longer the shock, the more the pain. Now let us discuss..."
"Why are you doing this to me?" Wheezed Alex as he lay grabbing his aching head and his stomach that was now knotted in pain.
"Because we need you, and the money that we spend on the damage you cause is more than a terrorist could cause on his best day, we've decided to use this as our bargaining chip, you work we let you live, you succeed, we let you go, you are our new test dummy and you have a mission."
Alex picked himself up off the floor and set he in a chair still clutching his stomach, his eyes were watery and a tear roiled down his cheek, he was sweating and his long dirty blind hair was hanging in front of his face partially. He breathed as though he had not had air in minutes and as he sat, his heat began to slow again, to normal speeds.
Blunt sat emotionless, he had just tortured a child and made him into a robot. "We've decided to pair you up with our best agent. So be sure not to get into any unnecessary danger. As you know the war in Iraq is raging and the Iraqis have recently set up a form of government, however unstable it is. Our government is sending a diplomat, Robert Castle, to help erect a stable democracy and allow for new security measures to be employed. Normally we wouldn't send a boy to guard a man but in this rare case you're services are required. Castles wife had just recently passed away and Castles son, Kevin refuses to leave his fathers side and Castle refuses to let him be alone, so you will protect the child at all costs, the other agent will worry about Castle."
Alex looked at Blunt not fully taking in all the information. "You want me to protect this kid from terrorists?"
"Exactly. Though more recently we have been experiencing attacks form a Rogue Cell of the militant group "Free Islam"."
"Rogue Cell?"
"This radical group of terrorists were once in line with 'Free Islam' an underground resistance, as this group became more and more violent towards everyone, even those 'Free Islam' didn't want dead, they found themselves without 'Free Islam' behind their backs. So they began to work alone calling in former contracts for weapons and other devices. We have reason to believe this group that we now refer to as 'Venom' is going to kill Castle and the heads of the Iraqi Government at their meeting two weeks from now."
"So what does this have to do with me?"
"Venom has a penchant for killing children. If they get a hold of Castles son they will have a crucial bargaining chip, and as you know we do not negotiate with terrorists, you must prevent anything from happening to his son."
"How many are there- in this 'Venom'?"
"Four leaders that we know of, the head of this faction is General Vladimir Trovsky, a former KGB operative who turned to the lucrative terrorism industry after the fall of the USSR. The other three are: Semir Georgio, Trovky's right hand man. Muhammad Oded, technical explosives genius responsible for the deaths of over 40 people in a Spanish bombing. And last but not least Sasha Slutsky, a former Israeli sniper accurate within 1500 meters which equates to about 5000 feet."
"What about me, what will I be using to protect myself? What about Jack, does she know I'm alive, what about Sabina?"
"Alex, Jack knows your alive, Sabina is okay and out of harms way, as far the rest of the world is concerned - Alex Rider is dead."
Alex was taken aback, dead, he had died before but the world he knew was now gone and he was watching from the behind the curtains as everyone dropped a flower on his grave, he was dead and now he could never live, at least not as Alex Rider.
"What will I do, I can't go home."
"No you can't, you are no longer Alex Rider, and the only people who will refer to you as such are your partner, Jack Starbright and Sabina Pleasure and MI:6. Now go see Mr. Smithers he'll be equipping you with you latest gadgetry."
"But who is my partner?"
"I'm sure he'll want to introduce himself, as of now you are no longer Alex Rider."
"Then who am I?"
"I've give you the pleasure of deciding that. Now go, Smithers is waiting.